DISASTER MANAGEMENT

Disasters take many shapes. Human-made disasters result from human errors and
include industrial explosions or structure failures. Natural disasters result from physical
phenomena and include earthquakes and droughts. Disasters classified as complex can
include epidemics or armed conflicts.

In whatever form, disasters disrupt communities and can take a serious toll on people,
property, economies, and the environment. They often stretch a community’s capacity to
cope.

Disaster management is a process of effectively preparing for and responding to

disasters. It involves strategically organizing resources to lessen the harm that disasters cause.
It also involves a systematic approach to managing the responsibilities of disaster prevention,
preparedness, response, and recovery.

What is Disaster Management?

The Disaster Management Act of 2005 defines Disaster Management as an integrated

process of planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing measures which are
necessary for-

1. Prevention of threat of any disaster

2. Reduction of risk of any disaster or its consequences

3. Readiness to deal with any disaster

4. Promptness in dealing with a disaster

5. Assessing the severity of the effects of any disaster

6. Rescue and relief

7. Rehabilitation and Reconstruction

Agencies involved in Disaster Management

 National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA):- The National Disaster

Management Authority, or the NDMA, is an apex body for disaster management,
headed by the Prime Minister of India. It is responsible for the supervision, direction,
and control of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF).

 National Executive Committee (NEC):- The NEC is composed of high profile

ministerial members from the government of India that include the Union Home
 Secretary as Chairperson, and the Secretaries to the Government of India (GoI)like
Ministries/Departments of Agriculture, Atomic Energy, Defence, Drinking Water
Supply, Environment and Forests, etc. The NEC prepares the National Plan for
Disaster Management as per the National Policy on Disaster Management.

 State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA):- The Chief Minister of the

respective state is the head of the SDMA.The State Government has a State Executive
Committee (SEC) which assists the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on
Disaster Management.

 District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA):- The DDMA is headed by the

District Collector, Deputy Commissioner or District Magistrate depending on the
situation, with the elected representatives of the local authority as the Co-Chairperson.
The DDMA ensures that the guidelines framed by the NDMA and the SDMA are
followed by all the departments of the State Government at the District level and the
local authorities in the District.

 Local Authorities:- Local authorities would include Panchayati Raj Institutions

(PRI), Municipalities, District and Cantonment 11 Institutional and Legal
Arrangements Boards, and Town Planning Authorities which control and manage
civic services.

GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES

 India is a signatory to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and is
committed to achieve the priorities and objectives through systematic and institutional
efforts.

 With multi-dimensional initiatives and expertise, India is taking a leading role in

strengthening regional cooperation among South Asian countries for reducing
disasters.

 India is one of the participating countries and works closely with the United Nations
International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UNISDR). India has been working
closely with many countries for the exchange of ideas and expertise in disaster
management.

 National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) defines the roles and responsibilities
of various stakeholders including Central Ministries/ Departments, State
Governments, UT Administrations, District Authorities and local self Governments.
 Primary responsibility of disaster management rests with the States. The Central
Government conducts regular mock drill, community training and awareness
programme to prepare the civilian populations for disasters.

 National Disaster Management Services (NDMS) was conceived by NDMA during

2015-16 for setting up of Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT)
Network connecting MHA, NDMA, NDRF etc. to provide the failsafe
communication infrastructure and technical support for Emergency Operation Centre
(EOC) operations across the country.

 NDMA has taken an initiative on Earthquake Disaster Risk Indexing (EDRI) for
50 important cities and 1 District in Seismic Zone IV & V areas.

o This kind of indexing will be helpful in comparing the overall risk across large
number of cities or region and also in prioritization of cities to implement
appropriate disaster mitigation measures.

 NDMA through Building Materials & Technology Promotion Council

(BMTPC) has prepared Upgraded Earthquake Hazard Maps and Atlases for the
country for better planning and policies.

 Leveraging the technology of geographic information system (GIS), NDMA have

taken up a project for disaster risk management by establishing GIS Server and
creation of database to integrate data obtained from various stakeholders to increase
disaster preparedness, mitigation, damage assessment, response and relief
management efforts.

 Under the National School Safety Programme (NSSP), 8600 schools (with 200
schools in 43 districts in 22 States/UTs falling seismic zones IV and V) have been
selected for providing training on school safety and disaster preparedness.

 The Aapdamitra scheme of NDMA has provision for training 6000 community
volunteers in disaster response in 30 most flood prone districts (200 volunteers per
district) in 25 States.

 The government has set up National Crisis Management Committee and Crisis
Management Group.

 The state governments have set up state crisis management groups headed by chief
secretaries, institutes of relief commissioners and state/district contingency plans.

 The disaster management policy of the government stresses on forecasting and

warning using advanced technologies, contingency agricultural planning to ensure
 availability of food grains, and preparedness and mitigation through specific
programmes.

 Project on deployment of Mobile Radiation Detection Systems (MRDS) to handle

Radiological Hazards in Metros/Capital Cities/Big Cities in India to detect unclaimed
radioactive materials/substances and save public from its hazardous effects.

 Landslide Risk Mitigation Scheme (LRMS) envisages financial support for site
specific Landslide Mitigation Projects recommended by landslide prone States,
covering disaster prevention strategy, disaster mitigation and R&D in monitoring of
critical Landslides thereby leading to the development of Early Warning System and
Capacity Building initiatives. The Scheme is under preparation.

 Core Group has been formed for Preparation of Guidelines to avert Boat Tragedies in
India.

Disaster Management Framework at Global level

 In 1994 the World Conference on Natural Disaster Reduction was held in

Yokohama, Japan.

o The conference adopted the Yokohama strategy and declared the decade
1990-2000 as the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction
(IDNDR).

 United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR) is the successor to
the secretariat of IDNDR and was created in 1999 to implement UN Disaster Risk
Reduction strategy.

 The Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) is a 10-year plan (2005-2015) to make
the world safer from natural hazards. Priorities such as, Disaster risk reduction,
identification, assessment through legal and policy frameworks, disaster preparedness
and use of innovation was adopted.

 The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, is the successor
instrument to the Hyogo Framework.

o It is a non-binding agreement, which the signatory nations, including India,

will attempt to comply with on a voluntary basis.

 There are three international agreements within the context of the post- 2015
development agenda. These are:

o The Sendai Framework.

 o Sustainable Development Goals 2015-2030

o The Paris agreement (COP 21) on Climate Change.

 These three agreements recognize the desired outcomes in Disaster Risk Reduction as
a product of interconnected social and economic processes, which overlap across the
agendas of the three agreements.

THE 5 STAGES OF THE DISASTER-MANAGEMENT CYCLE

When properly implemented, the disaster-management cycle can lessen the impact of a
catastrophic event. It can also incorporate the policies and emergency responses needed for a
full, expedited recovery. The cycle involves the following five stages:

1. Prevention

The best way to address a disaster is by being proactive. This means identifying potential
hazards and devising safeguards to mitigate their impact. Although this stage in the cycle
involves putting permanent measures into place that can help minimize disaster risk, it’s
important to acknowledge that disasters can’t always be prevented.

Prevention involves scenarios such as the following:

 Implementing an evacuation plan in a school, for example, showing teachers how to

lead students to safety in the event of a tornado or fire

 Planning and designing a city in a way that minimizes the risk of flooding, for
example, with the use of locks, dams or channels to divert water away from populous
areas

2. Mitigation

Mitigation aims to minimize the loss of human life that would result from a disaster. Both
structural and nonstructural measures may be taken.

 A structural measure means changing the physical characteristics of a building or an

environment to curb the effects of a disaster. For example, clearing trees away from a
house can ensure that dangerous storms don’t knock down the trees and send them
crashing into homes and public buildings.

 Nonstructural measures involve adopting or amending building codes to optimize

safety for all future building construction.

3. Preparedness
Preparedness is an ongoing process in which individuals, communities, businesses and
organizations can plan and train for what they’ll do in the event of a disaster. Preparedness is
defined by ongoing training, evaluating and corrective action, ensuring the highest level of
readiness.

Fire drills, active-shooter drills and evacuation rehearsals are all good examples of the
preparedness stage.

4. Response

Response is what happens after the disaster occurs. It involves both short- and long-term
responses.

Ideally, the disaster-management leader will coordinate the use of resources (including
personnel, supplies and equipment) to help restore personal and environmental safety, as well
as to minimize the risk of any additional property damage.

During the response stage, any ongoing hazards are removed from the area; for example, in
the aftermath of a wildfire, any lingering fires will be put out, and areas that pose a high
flammability risk will be stabilized.

5. Recovery

The fifth stage in the disaster-management cycle is recovery. This can take a long time,
sometimes years or decades. For example, some areas in New Orleans have yet to fully
recover from Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It involves stabilizing the area and restoring all
essential community functions. Recovery requires prioritization: first, essential services like
food, clean water, utilities, transportation and healthcare will be restored, with less-essential
services being prioritized later.

Ultimately, this stage is about helping individuals, communities, businesses and organizations
return to normal or a new normal depending on the impact of the disaster.